Scanner shortage is our major challenge at Apapa Port, Customs tells House of Reps
As Apapa Commands collects N753.8 billion
The Customs Area Controller of Apapa Command, Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller Babatunde Olomu, has informed the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise that shortage of scanning machines and other essential technological equipment is a major challenge that hinders cargo clearance in Apapa Port.
Comptroller Olomu pointed this and many others to the legislators during their oversight function, led by their Chairman, Hon. Leke Abejide, to the command in Apapa, Lagos on Wednesday, April 9, 2025.
The Controller, who recommended a legislation towards the procurement of more scanners at the ports and border stations to facilitate cargo clearance, disclosed to the legislators that the Command collected N753.8 billion as revenue to the Federation a counts in the first quarter of 2025.
Olomu noted that the amount was N205 billion higher than the N489 billion collected in the same period of 2024, pointing out that the command achieved a daily record-breaking revenue collection of N18.9bn on Friday, March 14, 2025, which stands out as the highest in the 135-year history of the Service.
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Comptroller Olomu noted that the new record broke the existing highest daily collection of N18.2bn which was achieved in October 2024 by the command.
According to him, “the successes of compliance, revenue collection, and anti-smuggling are fallouts of collaborations where intelligence is gathered processed and deployed for national economic interest and security.”
Olomu said the command is playing a critical role in the Service’s modernization agenda, especially on the implementation of the Unified Customs Management System, otherwise known as B’Odogwu, and that between January 2025 to date, the Command had recorded nine seizures out of which five were unregistered pharmaceuticals smuggled into the country.
He urged the committee to interface with other government stakeholders regulating terminal operators like Eko Support, ENL, and APM Terminals on the need for them to upgrade their working equipment in line with the concession agreements signed with the Federal Government.
He said if properly looked into, this has the potential of facilitating trade and in the long run, increasing the revenue generating capacity of the Nigeria Customs Service.
